By Zephyria 
“Why do I have to roll around too when you can just roll that bastard?”
To the obvious complaint, Wilkins calmly persuaded him.
“Doing it is fine, but there needs to be something to overwhelmingly crush that bastard. Grayson can be good at picking up women, but we need a control group to show that it’s useless in real combat.”
Wilkins grabbed Dane’s arms tightly to prevent him from running away.
“You absolutely have to participate in this plan.”
Dane grimaced as if getting goosebumps at the darkly shining eyes.
“Isn’t putting a ‘must-have’ condition when making a plan a sign of a failed plan?”
As Dane tried to escape until the very end, Wilkins persuaded him with a more serious face than before.
“Dane, I didn’t plan this just to mess with Grayson Miller. Shouldn’t that bastard actually experience that he’s on a different level from us so he’ll be more compliant in the future? A year is long. Who knows what that bastard will do? Shouldn’t we take the lead from the start?”
Of course, as Team leader, his top priority would be to handle Grayson Miller somehow. He can’t even imagine him following his orders obediently, so making him obey even by force is a natural thought for the Team leader…
While he was still reluctant, Ezra suddenly jumped in.
“You better cooperate. Think about it, what if that bastard gets isolated while on the field? Someone has to go and save him. Who among us can do it?”
Dane frowned and pointed at himself with his middle finger without saying a word. As if asking if he really had to save that bastard. Ezra nodded firmly.
“That’s right, of course, I or other guys will go in with you, but you absolutely have to be there. Why? Because your physique is the best among us! You’re the only one who can pull Grayson Miller out!”
The passionate explanation was nothing more than sophistry, but it seemed difficult to escape this solid trap.
“Now, Dane Striker.”
Following the cruel reality, Wilkins called out Dane’s full name. He stared at Dane with a more serious expression than ever and opened his mouth.
“Should you do this? Or not?”
“…Ha.”
In the end, Dane covered his face with one hand and let out a deep sigh. That settled everything.
three
It was a bright midday with the sun shining hotly.
The sky was a clear blue without a single cloud, and the strong sunlight brightly illuminated the earth. The glass windows of the buildings in the distance sparkled dazzlingly, and the air felt cooler thanks to the blowing wind. Such perfectly clear weather. But the moment Dane saw the scene that unfolded at the place he arrived, he suddenly wanted to cover the sun with his hand.
Other team members were already waiting at the arrival point. Seeing a group of female employees gathered, befitting the purpose of this ridiculous test, Dane sighed involuntarily. They were already overflowing with adrenaline. Seeing them waving their fists, chanting Dane’s name, and booing Grayson, Dane suddenly wondered if he should just turn around and go home.
“Come on, come here. I’ll explain the course. Dane, Dane! I said come here!”
At Wilkins’ shout, Dane reluctantly headed towards him slowly. Grayson was already there, waiting for him. As the two men stood on either side of him, Wilkins unfolded the map he had brought and said.
“Okay, this is our fire station.”
Wilkins tapped the map with his finger and explained.
“You just have to start here and go around like this, got it? If you finish the course quickly, you’ll be back in 30 minutes. Look, if you pass through here and go like this…”
Dane just stood there indifferently, glancing down at the map as he listened to Wilkins’ explanation. That’s because this course was already a familiar route. The route around the low mountain behind the fire station was not much different from the course they occasionally took for physical training, so there was no need to memorize it. The only difference was a secluded curve off the road. It was clear that they had added it to make the test more difficult than usual. It was understandable that they had modified it since it was just a physical test in name only, but in reality, it was a scheme to mess with Grayson Miller.
But it wouldn’t change much.
As he put one hand on his hip and watched with a nonchalant expression, he suddenly felt uneasy. The moment he raised his head, Dane met a pair of purple eyes staring intently at him.
Since when has he been watching?
He couldn’t tell, but it was certain that he had been staring at Dane for quite some time. A battle of wills? It was a series of truly trivial things. But he had no intention of avoiding his gaze, so Dane also met his eyes straight on.
At that moment, the deep purple eyes became even darker. Along with the eyes that had turned almost black, the sweet scent that always lingered around Grayson became several times stronger.
It felt as if even the air had become sticky. The intense Pheromone that swept through the surroundings in an instant caused a change.
“Ah!”
“Jane, are you okay?”
“Mark, what’s wrong? Mark!”
“Does anyone have medicine?”
The Omega Trait colleagues were affected and staggered momentarily. Some were even panting heavily, looking flustered. Ha, Dane let out a short sigh in disbelief. It was because of the scent overflowing from this damn Dominant Alpha.
A terribly sweet Pheromone scent.
He was unbelievably big, but his Pheromone was excessively sweet.
As if all his teeth would rot if he bit into it.
Of course, Dane was not unaffected, but thanks to his long experience and special Trait, he could easily overcome this situation. The problem was the general Omegas who were affected. To spread Pheromones so carelessly, he had no consideration for others. Like all Dominant Alphas.
He felt the urge to just knock this annoying guy out, but he suppressed it. It’s not good to solve things like this every time.
For the first time, he thought it wouldn’t be bad to make him behave a little, as Wilkins said. After all, these kinds of people are just gym rats who only drink protein shakes, so they often get flustered or fall behind when they actually do strenuous training that requires using all the muscles in their body. So there wasn’t much time left for him to provoke like that. Dane thought so and became generous.
“…So, got it? Did you both understand?”
“Yes.”
“Of course.”
Dane and Grayson answered one after another, but their gazes towards each other remained the same. Wilkins looked at them alternately, shrugged his shoulders, and rolled up the map, holding it in his hand.
“Okay, then let’s start now. Go to the starting line, hurry.”
It was when he was following Wilkins, who was urging them to hurry, that he heard,
“Dane, Dane.”
The person who called him in a small voice was DeAndre. He glanced around and took out a ten-dollar bill from his pocket, handing it to Dane.
“Hit that bastard a little where no one’s watching, preferably in the face.”
He was serious. Dane looked down at DeAndre’s fierce face, glanced at the bill, folded it, and put it in his pants pocket.
“Is ten dollars enough?”
At the casual question, DeAndre paused. Soon after, he hurriedly rummaged through his pockets and hastily piled up crumpled bills that he took out from here and there on Dane’s palm. Looking nervous as if waiting for a verdict, Dane silently unfolded the money one by one, checked the amount, and nodded.
“Thirty-eight dollars… and twenty-five cents. Got it.”
As DeAndre shook out the last coins from his pocket, Dane put them in his pocket as well, patted the client’s arm, and turned around.
“I trust you, Dane! I believe in you!”
Dane, still with his back turned, waved only one hand towards DeAndre, who was shouting urgently from behind. And he headed to the starting line where everyone was waiting.